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Ayanami
Ayanami The primary antagonist in the anime and manga series 07-Ghost. He is the Imperial Army's Chief of Staff, military strategist and the leader of the infamous Black Hawks being a Warsfeil. He is widely known and respected throughout the Barsburg Empire for his accomplishments, despite his relatively young age, usually being greeted with salutes by many who see him. He is directly or indirectly responsible for many of the turmoils that Teito has suffered in his life including the death of Mikage and Weldeschtein Krom Raggs, Teito's Father. He seeks the Eye of Mikhail and has been shown to be targeting the Seven Ghosts, particularly Zehel as Ayanami is the original owner of Zehel's scythe. He is revealed to be the reincarnation of Verloren later in the story. Anime synopsis He is first seen entering the observation room for the Barsburg Empire Army exam along with the other members of the Black Hawks, his subordinates. When a panicking Shuri begins to bang on the glass begging someone to help them from the crazed criminal whom they were ordered to kill as a part of the exam, he says 'how unsightly.' When Teito manages to suppress the criminal but states that he has no need to kill him and that suppressing him is enough, Ayanami intervenes and finishes the criminal for Teito and said to him, "You're soft." Later, we see him being attacked by Teito who has recollected that the Chief of Staff Ayanami killed his father in the war against Raggs, however, his attack is stopped by Major Hyuuga. For attacking his higher-up, Teito is locked up for questioning, but he manages to kill the interrogators and escape from his cell. He is about to take off by a Hawkzile while Ayanami, standing on a balcony, watches him. When Teito takes off, Ayanami attacks Teito, and Teito manages to put up a barrier in time, failing which would have caused him grave injury. However Teito's barrier was not strong enough to protect the Hawkzile, and Ayanami's attack sends the object hurtling towards the ground. Ayanami next appears in a meeting with the other high ranking officers and admirals. During the course of the meeting the three officers, who dislike Ayanami, attack Ayanami for Teito's escape, saying that he was a candidate for the Eye of Mikhail, and demand he (Ayanami) be punished severely. Miroku defends Ayanami, reassuring the officers that there are many more candidates for the Eye, and that he needs to discuss something important with Ayanami later. He is later seen walking out of the meeting room when Miroku approaches him and asks him how the preparations are going, Ayanami replying that he promises that he will retrieve Teito. Ayanami is next seen in an interrogation room with Mikage, a rookie as he has just passed the academy's final exam. He intends to help Teito flee. He has also stolen a Hawkzile from the army for Teito's escape. Being met with Mikage's prolonged silence and repeated refusal to reveal any information about Teito, Ayanami threatens to kill Mikage's sister if Mikage does not reveal the whereabouts of Teito. Mikage expresses that he will not abandon Teito, and as a result Ayanami possessed his soul and releases him so he can infiltrate the Church. However Mikage's sister was later shown alive and unharmed - despite the fact that Mikage chose Teito. The Black Hawks are then sent on a mission by Miroku after it is revealed to Ayanami that Teito holds the Eye of Mikhail. The Barsburg military and royalty believe that the only way that a repeat of the Raggs War can be avoided is if the Barsburg Empire is in control of both eyes - so that the Church is unable to use one of the Eyes as a weapon against them. As part of his plan to retrieve the Eye, Ayanami sends Kuroyuri to confront Frau so he is out of the way when the Black Hawks go after the Eye. As a result Kuroyuri mutilates some criminals he/she finds, manages to frame Frau for it and the priest is promptly arrested. Ayanami is later seen in another important meeting with the other high-ranking officers, this time discussing how the Barsburg empire feels threatened by the neighbouring country, Antwort, and how the Empire should react to the perceived threat. Kuroyuri contacts Ayanami through telepathy and informs him the mission was a success, when Kuroyuri cries Ayanami comforts him/her and Kuroyuri promises that he/she will retrieve the Eye. One of the generals, who dislikes Ayanami, takes advantage of his distraction first accuses him of not caring and mockingly berates him for not paying attention. Another one pipes in, and suggests that they send Ayanami and an measly army of 1000 men, away to deal with the hostility in Antwort. To spite them, Ayanami agrees, and snidely remarks that he will only need 500 men to deal with something like that. Ayanami sends Kuroyuri and Haruse to the church but Kuroyuri is attacked by Castor and captured using his Ghost strings to ensnare him/her. Castor explains to the viewers that Ayanami can hold half a person's soul, allowing telepathy and empathy, and uses the latter to interrogate Ayanami - because if Kuroyuri receives injury, Ayanami receives it as well. Kuroyuri begs Ayanami to let go of his/her soul so that Ayanami won't be injured by Castor, but Ayanami refuses to leave Kuroyuri and snaps the strings that hold him/her allowing Kuroyuri to escape with Haruse. He then sends Hyuuga after Frau and Hyuuga gets the Eye of Mikhail. Then Labrador intervenes and Ayanami leaves with his soldiers. After this the Black Hawks are again sent to the church - this time to capture Teito, the host of the Eye of Mikhail, since the Eyes are useless without their hosts. Ayanami confronts Teito and the latter attacks him out of rage, however despite his repeated attacks Teito is not strong enough to defeat Ayanami. As Ayanami attempts to read Teito's memory, it is revealed that one of the Seven Ghosts, Vertrag, has blocked them off and that anyone who tries to touch this part of Teito's memory will be harmed. It angers Ayanami, who says 'Why do you always have to get in my way, Vertrag?' The fight is interrupted by Teito who warps the Black Hawks and the Priests to Pandora's box, where upon seeing this Ayanami instructs the Black Hawks to retreat. Appearance Ayanami is a young man who is 34 years old according to an omake in Supreme Suger (however as this is in an omake that set in the same universe as the Begleiter side chapter, where Yuki and Suzu are young students not combat sklaves as they are in the manga, it's unknown if this is canon). He stands at 5 foot 8 inches in the manga, but he is drawn several inches taller in the anime (being the same height as Frau in the anime, but being drawn almost a head smaller than him in the manga). Ayanami's build is quite slender, with broad shoulders and he weighs 57kg. His blood type is B. He has sharp facial features with a pointy nose, narrowed eyes and full lips. Out of all the Black Hawks, Ayanami has the palest skin tone- almost white when compared to others. His hair is neck length, wavy and a pale blue colour (coloured pale purple in the manga), his eye colour is violet but the rims of his irises flash red whenever he uses his zaiphon. In the manga Ayanami's eyes are either drawn as having no pupils, or slitted pupils like that of a snake, this not occuring in the anime, as Ayanami is drawn as having normal eyes in the anime. Ayanami is considered very handsome in the series universe, with Eve and Katsuragi commenting on his beauty. The Imperial Army has been shown to take advantage of Ayanami's attractiveness, using pictures of him to attract more females into the military (see an omake). Another four-panel omake from Supreme Sugar 01 says that many women in the Barsburg military have a crush on him. Ayanami is always seen in his Military uniform: which consists of a black, or possibly dark blue, ankle-length overcoat with gold trimmings on the chest, sleeve cuffs and neck-guard. Like his subordinates Ayanami wears black trousers and knee-length black, buckled boots and white gloves. His uniform has a small half mantle hanging off his left shoulder emblazoned with the Barsburg Military insignia, and on his right he has a golden epaulet and shoulder boards as an indication of his high rank. It is unknown what is worn under the overcoat but it is possible it is a plain white shirt (as Mikage was shown wearing one when in the Military uniform). Ayanami's uniform is more decorated than those of his subordinates, a major difference being that Ayanami has a peaked-cap which is trimmed with gold and has the Barsburg Military insignia in the centre. Ayanami is very fond of his military cap, and does not like to take it off - the reason is unknown. Personality Ayanami is very dedicated to his profession as a soldier and to his country, willing to kill and die for what he believes in, and his nationalism is his main motive in his actions. He shares Field-Marshal Oak's view that the best way to protect Barsburg from losing its present territories is to find the Eye of Mikhail and let the Barsburg Empire keep it. The opinions and comments of other people hardly affect him and he does not change his behaviour or go out of his way in order to impress or please his superiors. Ayanami is strong-willed and never complains about pain or tiredness (despite the omake Begleiter ''revealing that he only gets 3 hours of sleep a day). He is quiet and always polite when speaking to others, rarely showing any facial expressions and always speaking in mono-tone. Despite being rather unemotional on the surface, Ayanami is aware of his subordinates' feelings (e.g. he comforted, and spoke softly to Kuroyuri when he/she cried) and well-being (e.g he has asked himself countless times whether Yukikaze was happy being his Begleiter). He often prefers to be during his work quietly and alone, rather than attending meetings or dealing with the antics of his subordinates. Ayanami is very tidy and organised and likes to complete all his work quickly and to a high standard (e.g in a manga chapter, other generals expect that it will take him half a year to settle the conflict in Antwort, but it turns out it only takes him one week to win the war). He dislikes anyone who distracts him, Hyuuga being the only person who does, and is usually very busy with paperwork, military meetings or court martials. Ayanami is very intelligent, being an excellent tactician and as the Chief of Staff he has organised many of the military's attacks. He is also very patient, waiting more than ten years till it is the right time to carry out his plan to remove Major-General Ogi. He is rarely caught off guard, only showing surprise when opponents are stronger than he originally thought. Ayanami has also been shown to be very cunning, being a master of manipulation, but has a tendency towards stubbornness. Ayanami has shown a fondness and attachment towards animals, especially cats, and owns many pets; seemingly preferring them over people. Ayanami can be rather merciless when he feels the Barsburg Empire is being threatened. He tells Mikage that he will kill his sister if he does not reveal the whereabouts of Teito, who was considered a dangerous fugitive by the military. However it was shown that Ayanami was bluffing, and it appears that he is unwilling to use such violence against innocents, as even though Mikage refused to say anything, his sister was shown alive and unharmed. Also, in the manga Ayanami hacks Razette's soul to read Castor's thoughts; he could very easily have killed Razette if he wanted too (which would have devasted Castor) but Razette was shown unharmed as Ayanami only put her to sleep. Whereas Ayanami is level-headed on the battlefield, he is quick to loose his temper and is not above using violence, mainly whipping or using zaiphon, to discipline his subordinates when they do stupid things to annoy him, Hyuuga being the only person who dares annoy Ayanami. Despite his cold demeanour, Ayanami has shown some kindness towards his fellow Black Hawks, despite trying to keep relationships professional (possibly as a result of Yukikaze's death). In the first Drama CD, Ayanami brings treats for his subordinates in his own luggage, but brings nothing but work for himself. He will also try his best to protect them from harm, and will risk his own safety to help them if he feels the situation has become too dangerous for them (episode 19; when Kuroyuri was fighting Castor, and 25; when he put himself in the line of fire to buy his subordinates some time to escape). Ayanami has a great respect for power, as his motto is "Justice without power is vain" (07-Ghost's official fanbook). Relationships '''A list of Ayanami's relationships.' With his superiors: [[Miroku|'Miroku:']] Ayanami is always polite when speaking to Miroku and always shows respect (always using honorific language to address him) and is grateful to Miroku, in the manga saying that he still owes Miroku for his help. Ayanami was shown with Miroku during the Raggs War suggesting that he has been working for Miroku for at least 10 years. However, Ayanami is suspicious of Miroku's motives, and does not seem to trust him completely, since Miroku is withholding some important information from him, such as he did not tell Ayanami that he has been hiding the last heir to the Raggs Kingdom and the Eye of Mikhail from the Basrburg Army till much later. [[Wakaba Oak|'Wakaba Oak':]] Ayanami talks with the Field-Marshall and his superior, Wakaba Oak, politely, but it appears he doesn't trust him. With his subordinates: Hyuuga: Out of all the Black Hawks Hyuuga interacts with Ayanami the most. He was Ayanami's classmate when they were in the military academy, so he knows Ayanami for more time than other present Black Hawk members. However because of their conflicting personalities Ayanami and Hyuuga are often at odds with each other. Hyuuga is often the only person brave enough to enquire Ayanami's motives, whereas the other Black Hawks will follow Ayanami's orders without question. He is also the person who dares to do things like being late for work or escaping from work to annoy Ayanami. Despite Hyuuga's rebellious side, Ayanami trusts Hyuuga in the sense that he will give Hyuuga an answer when asked why he does something. He relies on Hyuuga to a certain extent, since sometimes he is not afraid to show weakness to him as he is the other Black Hawks, for example, after he has lost a part of his body in a fight with Castor, he let Hyuuga hold him and carry him to the regeneration tank. In the drama CD, Ayanami somehow softens or lets his guard down when Hyuuga mentions Yukikaze and tries to cheer Ayanami up. Hyuuga is able to get away without punishment for offences that would have cost other soldiers their lives - using 'tan' to address Ayanami. (However, since the omake Begleiter reveals that Ayanami does not like Hyuuga to call him that way, it is probable that Ayanami may have tried to punish Hyuuga at first, just that he has given up later because punishment won't work.) As for why Hyuuga is not killed for that, possible reasons are that Ayanami doesn't want to lose a strong and loyal subordinate or a good friend. [[Kuroyuri|'Kuroyuri']]: Ayanami's attitude towards Kuroyuri may be considered pampering. Kuroyuri is able to get away with many things that others would have been punished for, as he/she can blatantly sleep in meetings without being punished by Ayanami at all, a possible reason being that Ayanami is unwilling to harm a child as young as Kuroyuri, or he understands that Kuroyuri is tired since he/she has given half of his/her soul to Ayanami (in the manga, Haruse has mentioned that after Ayanami has used Kuroyuri's body, he/she will feel very tired). Ayanami can be something of a father-figure to Kuroyuri, as he has comforted him/her when he/she gets upset over things, e.g. when he/she sees Frau using Verloren's scythe and cries. Another example is when Haruse's soul is taken, Kuroyuri contemplates suicide till Ayanami berated him/her, telling him/her to live if not for him/herself then for Haruse. Kuroyuri also imagines Ayanami so be something of a Prince to him/her, as seen in a side story in the manga that when Haruse talks about a prince, Kuroyuri asks him "How can I kiss Ayanami-sama?". [[Katsuragi|'Katsuragi:']] At first it appears that Ayanami distrusts Katsuragi, as he brings all the Black Hawks with him but Katsuragi for a secret mission, and Katsuragi works for Ogi as a spy. However, later it is revealed that "Katsuragi" is a loyal subordinate to Ayanami (to the extent that he did a facial surgery in order to take the place of the real Katsuragi who has died) and for more than ten years he has pretended to work for Ogi to wait for an appropriate time to remove him. Konatsu: 'Ayanami and Konatsu interact very little as Konatsu follows Ayanami's orders without question, giving Ayanami no reason to address him further. However it's shown in the Drama CD that Ayanami approves of Konatsu's hard-working attitude, saying to Hyuuga that Konatsu is 'such an excellent and cherishable Begleiter'. As Konatsu was born without the powers of Warsfeil, he may be the only Black Hawk who has not given half of his soul to Ayanami. [[Haruse|'Haruse: ']]Ayanami and Haruse talk little as Haruse follows Ayanami's orders without question. However, it is likely that Ayanami approves of Haruse, as seen in a chapter in the manga that Ayanami refers to Haruse as "my important subordinate". Even after Haruse has become immobile, he is still found in Ayanami's aircraft when they go to Antwort for mission, and Ayanami asks an officer about Haruse's state. In the official doujinshi ''Supreme Sugar, Ayanami is reading all his subordinates' Christmas wishes, and he approves of only Haruse's wish. '''Shuri: Wakaba Oak forced Shuri onto Ayanami before they went to Antwort for war, possibly hoping Ayanami might be able to turn Shuri into a better soldier. Ayanami dislikes Shuri, and was very annoyed upon hearing that Shuri was his new Begleiter, as Shuri is loud, arrogant and causes trouble when he begins to panic meaning Ayanami is forced to 'baby-sit' him rather than treat him like a subordinate. Another reason why Ayanami does not want Shuri in his care is that he distrusts his father, Wakaba. Yukikaze: Yukikaze was Ayanami's Begleiter and he was killed defending Ayanami in battle. According to the omake Begleiter, they were close like a couple and his death took its toll on Ayanami emotionally. It is possible that Ayanami may not have been so expressionless before Yukikaze's death. In the 07-Ghost drama CD, Ayanami visits Yikikaze's grave and shows a gentle side that he rarely shows to the other Black Hawks. Ayanami demonstrates a great level of respect towards Yukikaze, only taking off his military cap when in his presence. Yukinami: Yukinami appears in the omake Begleiter as a cadet Begleiter assigned under Ayanami's supervision. At first it seems that Ayanami is cold towards him, but at the end of the omake he expresses that he actually approves of Yukinami's performance. Another four-panel omake from Supreme Sugar 01 shows that Ayanami is his role model, as he has Ayanami's photos in his notebook. It also shows that Yukinami receives many love letters from female officers in the army. With people from Verloren's past: [[Eve|'Eve:']] Verloren was deeply in love with Eve. In the manga Chapter 52 Verloren was shown wanting to reach her, but then just lowered his hand and quietly saw her off. The Chief of Heaven accused him of killing her. Whether he was her murderer or not, Verloren was distraught at her death and travelled to earth and swore to find her reincarnation. As Verloren's reincarnation, Ayanami has feelings for Eve, as when Labrador tells him he can never have what he wants again, a picture of Eve is in the background, and Ayanami is furious at Labrador's comment. [[Frau|'Zehel/Frau:']] Ayanami and Frau appear to have some sort of rivalry, exchanging banter during their battles. Frau wields Ayanami's (Verloren's) Scythe, and Ayanami warns Frau that the Scythe wants to be with its true master and will soon return to him (Ayanami). History Little is known about Ayanami's human past. It is known that he was born in to a family of nobles, but prior to the series they were cast out from the royal line for a yet unknown reason. Some elder officers mock Ayanami and his family for that and they tend to make things difficult for him. It is most likely that they are jealous of him due to the fact that he outranks them at such a young age, as they use phrases such as a 'brat', 'impertinent youth' and 'intolerable youngster' to describe him. In the manga, it seems that many soldiers in the army fear or dislike Ayanami and the Black Hawks (a small group of officers comprises of Ayanami's loyalest subordinates) because many people see Warsfiels as monsters. The omake Begleiter reveals that Ayanami has attended the Barsburg Military Academy and Hyuuga was one of his classmates. Before Ayanami rose to the rank of Chief Of Staff, he has fought at the war between Barsburg and Raggs more than ten years ago and was the officer who killed the King of Raggs, who is Teito's father. It is revealed in the manga that Ayanami contains the soul of Verloren. Back in heaven, thousand years ago, Verloren was hailed as God's greatest creation - and it was his job to devour the souls that were not fit for heaven. It was shown that Verloren was deeply in love with Eve, the Chief of Heaven's daughter, and the Chief of Heaven accused Verloren of killing her, but it is unknown if he actually did kill Eve. Verloren, distraught at her death and angry at the Chief of Heaven, travelled down to earth and began taking people's souls in order to look for Eve's reincarnation. When the Chief of Heaven found out what Verloren was doing, he ordered his execution (to be carried out by the Seven Ghosts which were made from Verloren's fragments and each had some of Verloren's powers), and his immortal body was sealed with the Eye of Mikhail while his soul is forced to reincarnate in human bodies by the seal of the Eye of Raphael. Abilities and Attributes A list of Ayanami's abilities. ''' Zaiphon: Ayanami is able to harness the power of a zaiphon and is shown to be very skilled at using it (universally being acknowledged as the strongest among the Black Hawks), being able to easily overpower his subordinates, as shown in the Drama CD. He displays many abilities with his zaiphon; mostly using it for attacking - but has shown the ability to put up shields to block attacks from enemies. Ayanami was shown to be strong enough to destroy the barrier that was protecting the city of Antwort with a single attack from his zaiphon. Ayanami is one of two characters in the series that are able to use 2 manifestations of Zaiphon. '''Attacking zaiphon: Ayanami mostly uses his powers to attack enemies, usually launching rings that explode upon impact. Ayanami has also used his attacking Zaiphon to cut the attacks of opponents in half, so that both sides of the opponent's zaiphon attack miss him. Healing zaiphon: Ayanami has very rarely been seen using his healing zaiphon (as his opponent usually cannot injure him during battle), but was shown being able to heal a wound on his cheek, sustained while holding Kuroyuri's soul, in a matter of seconds. As Ayanami is the reincarnation of Verloren he has also inherited some of Verloren's abilities too, however he cannot use them at their full strength because he is in a human body. Because Verloren devoured the soul of Vertrag, Ayanami has the ability to possess souls by making a contract, as seen in Mikage's case. However, in a human body Verloren can only uses the power imperfectly, hence possessing only half of Mikage's soul. But this is enough to allow Ayanami to control a person's movements and what they say. It is currently unknown for how long he can possess a person's soul and if this works on anyone. The Black Hawks, his loyalest subordinates, have given half of their souls to Ayanami (07-Ghost official character book). Ayanami can communicate telepathically with the owner of the soul he holds. He will also receive the same injury if these owners are injured, as seen in episode 19 (when blood comes out from Kuroyuri's mouth, blood also comes out from Ayanami's mouth). However, while Ayanami is injured when one of his subordinates is hurt, his subordinates do not appear to be injured whenever Ayanami himself receives damage. Non-zaiphon related: Ayanami is rarely shown combating without the use of a Zaiphon, but there is evidence to show that he is an able swordsman, as during his fight with Teito in the church, Ayanami drew his sword confidently and was shown to be able to dodge all his attacks then slice Teito's cheek. Ayanami also carries a whip at his belt at all times, this often being his weapon of choice, and has been shown to be very skilled at using it; being able to hit moving targets, and targets at a distance with ease. Ayanami is the Barsburg military's strategist and is the mastermind behind most of the military's plans. He is very intelligent, and is able to find and exploit weaknesses in the enemy's defence or attack style (as shown during the conflict against Antwort), and his plans are well thought out, always having a fallback plan if things go wrong. Ayanami is also bilingual; able to speak the Raggs language. ﻿Trivia *Many characters mistake Ayanami for a Prince or King, leading some fans to speculate that he may be related to royalty. He also bears a resemblance to Princess Ouka, who has the same eye and hair colour. *There are some rumors that Labrador and Ayanami may be relatives (because both of them come from noble families and their appearances are very similar). This is yet to be proved. *When Verloren's soul reincarnates in a human body, they should not remember any of Verloren's memories. It is unknown how and when Ayanami has remembered that he is Verloren. *As the Eye of Raphael is responsible for sealing Verloren's soul in a human body, some fans have guessed that something happened to the Eye of Raphael and caused the reincarnation of Verloren to recall the memories of his past life thousand years ago. *Labrador wishes for Ayanami to live his life as a human, which he says will make Ayanami's life happier. *It is yet unknown how much of Verloren's memory Ayanami has recollected. *In Dutch and German, "verloren" means lost. *Ayanami, Yukikaze, Katsuragi and Hyuuga are names for four Japanese battleships. *Ayanami has various pets, but all of them, except his leopards, are afraid of him. (the official doujinshi) *Ayanami does not like taking off his peaked cap except when he is with Yukikaze, the reason yet unknown. *Ayanami only drinks coffee for breakfast. He skips lunch. It is unknown how often he skips the evening meal. (2nd drama CD) *Ayanami categorizes his rubbish before disposing it. Also, he has thrown Hyuuga into the rubbish categorized as: for incineration. (''Teito and Ayanami's secrets, ''a mini-drama in the 3rd Limited Anime DVD) *In a four-panel omake from one of the Limited Anime DVDs, Hyuuga and Katsuragi say "The number of females in the military has increased recently", and then they find a leaflet on which "Shake hands with me at Hohburg" is written and an image of Ayanami (smiling and holding out his hand) is on it. They think it is an altered image. The organizer of that "event" has not been found. *Ayanami is good at getting information from someone through torturing him/her psychologically or physically. *It is suggested that he has an iron maiden, a tool for torture. (see an omake in the manga). *Ayanami dislikes it when people lie to him (an omake in the manga). *Ayanami ambidextrous, writing with his left hand, and using his Zaiphon and chopsticks (see an omake) with his right hand. *Ayanami whips a magic mirror who says that Teito is the fairest person in the world. (an omake in the manga) *The wish Ayanami wrote and put in his Christmas stocking is "(to have) excellent, capable staff". When Teito, acting as Santa Claus, puts a name list in Ayanami's Christmas stocking, his wrist is caught by the shackle hidden in it and attached to Ayanami's bed. In the end, his bed is seen flying in the sky with the sleigh because the bishops cannot remove Ayanami's shackle. (an omake in manga vol. 11) *Ayanami ranked 4th in the Zero Comic Sum popularity poll, beating Bishops Castor and Labrador. Category:Characters Category:Male